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Common errors of pluralization in Nigerian English |
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THE POLITICS OF GRAMMAR with Farooq A. Kperogi
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One notable feature of Nigerian English is the predilection for adding plural forms to nouns that don’t normally admit of them in Standard English. This is certainly a consequence of the inability of many Nigerian speakers and writers of the English language to keep up with the quirky, illogical irregularities that are so annoyingly typical of the conventions of English grammar.
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MTN and the telecoms goldmine |
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Cartelopia with Asabe Usman
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Cartelopia is an incredible country. Underline incredible: meaning hard to believe, farfetched or absurd even. After GSM operating licences were first issued in 2001 at the outlandish cost of $285 million to foreign companies such as Multiple Telephony Network (MTN) we gasped at the amounts but left the details to the regulators and legislators in charge. All we wanted was a chance to be able to talk with each other and to friends and family abroad.
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On “Metaphors” and “Puns” in Nigerian Media English |
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THE POLITICS OF GRAMMAR with F arooq A. Kperogi
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No day goes by without reading in our newspapers how some unflattering event in one part of the country is a “metaphor” for what is wrong with Nigeria. And extended news reports, feature articles, and opinion pieces are often full of intended and not intended “puns.”
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Chronicle of many deaths foretold |
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Cartelopia Asabe Usmana
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Late last year as the spectre of a New Year came upon us, I indulged in some extensive wishful thinking. I wrote a piece for this column titled ‘A different narrative for 2010’. It was really a prayer for this Cartelopia and the millions of relentlessly resilient Nigerians who live here. I prayed for what now appears, in retrospect, thoroughly impossible. The premise however - the self-realisation and awakening of one man, the President - is to me even now, a profound but very plausible transformation. Something, not entirely improbable, with sufficient health, that is.
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Re: Nigerianisms, Americanisms, Briticisms and communication breakdown |
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THE POLITICS OF GRAMMAR with Farooq A. Kperogi
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I have continued to receive a profusion of thoughtful responses from both the online and print readers of this column. This week, I am publishing some of the responses I received on the above topic. It is a mix of commendation and additional anecdotal examples on how Nigerianisms collide with other English varieties to produce communication breakdowns. Together, they make for an interesting and insightful read. Enjoy.
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